School of Biological Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China.
Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Technology Innovation Center for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China.
Nutrients. 2024 Aug 19;16(16):2760. doi: 10.3390/nu16162760.
γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a widely distributed non-protein amino acid that serves as a crucial inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, regulating various physiological functions. As a result of its potential benefits, GABA has gained substantial interest in the functional food and pharmaceutical industries. The enzyme responsible for GABA production is glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), which catalyzes the irreversible decarboxylation of glutamate. Understanding the crystal structure and catalytic mechanism of GAD is pivotal in advancing our knowledge of GABA production. This article provides an overview of GAD's sources, structure, and catalytic mechanism, and explores strategies for enhancing GABA production through fermentation optimization, metabolic engineering, and genetic engineering. Furthermore, the effects of GABA on the physiological functions of animal organisms are also discussed. To meet the increasing demand for GABA, various strategies have been investigated to enhance its production, including optimizing fermentation conditions to facilitate GAD activity. Additionally, metabolic engineering techniques have been employed to increase the availability of glutamate as a precursor for GABA biosynthesis. By fine-tuning fermentation conditions and utilizing metabolic and genetic engineering techniques, it is possible to achieve higher yields of GABA, thus opening up new avenues for its application in functional foods and pharmaceuticals. Continuous research in this field holds immense promise for harnessing the potential of GABA in addressing various health-related challenges.
γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）是一种广泛分布的非蛋白氨基酸，作为大脑中一种重要的抑制性神经递质，调节各种生理功能。由于其潜在的益处，GABA 在功能性食品和制药行业引起了广泛关注。负责 GABA 生产的酶是谷氨酸脱羧酶（GAD），它催化谷氨酸的不可逆脱羧反应。了解 GAD 的晶体结构和催化机制对于深入了解 GABA 的生产至关重要。本文概述了 GAD 的来源、结构和催化机制，并探讨了通过发酵优化、代谢工程和遗传工程来提高 GABA 产量的策略。此外，还讨论了 GABA 对动物生物体生理功能的影响。为了满足 GABA 的日益增长的需求，已经研究了各种策略来提高其产量，包括优化发酵条件以促进 GAD 活性。此外，还采用了代谢工程技术来增加谷氨酸作为 GABA 生物合成前体的可用性。通过微调发酵条件和利用代谢和遗传工程技术，可以实现 GABA 的更高产量，从而为其在功能性食品和药物中的应用开辟新的途径。该领域的持续研究为利用 GABA 应对各种与健康相关的挑战提供了巨大的潜力。
